Cocktail Caucus in the Emerald City
Recently a friend and I stopped by Seattle’s Tini Bigs Lounge, a black-wall, pink-light cocktail lounge just steps from the Space Needle. The sign outside claims it is the “second best cocktail lounge” in Seattle. At first, I wasn’t quite sure why—after sampling a couple varieties of their ten-ounce 30 martinis, I’d happily call them the best around.
“Everyone claims to be number one regardless if it’s earned or just a marketing ploy,” says manager Patrick Haight. “We like to think of ourselves as a humble cocktail lounge that is progressive in creating a good quality cocktail with unique and fresh ingredients. Being number two always gives us room to strive in doing better.”
Fair enough. That night we sampled the Florida Keys, Aloe, and Lemon Drop varieties, avoiding the (we felt) more adventurous flavors, like the Burning Man-tini (mazama chili pepper vodka mixed with chocolate liqueur), voted best martini by Seattle Weekly.
But if you stop by the lounge this week, stay away from their classic varieties, step up to the 1909 Brunswick bar to order a “Bama-tini” or “Clin-tini,” and watch as Tini Bigs’s Democratic cocktail caucus takes place right in the lounge. Both drinks are made from the exact same ingredients, and for every drink ordered, the tally will go up on the board (pictured, above).
“We will be serving and keeping our unofficial results until one of the candidates drops out,” says Haight. “From that point I will already have a McCain and ‘fill in the blank’ board ready to go until the election. We’ll have our election night party at Tini Bigs and our adjoining bar Hula Hula to root for the perspective candidates. Last election we had a more than enthusiastic party.” This is one political party we’d be glad to take part in.
Tini Bigs is located at 100 Denny Way (+1 206 284 0931), on the corner of First and Denny, near the Space Needle and Pacific Science Center.
- Nat Geo Expeditions
Photo: courtesy of Patrick Haight; Tini Bigs chalkboard art by Martin Hester
